Stephen Carlin
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Stephen Carlin: The Podium of Unconditional Surrender
Stephen Carlin has a prime slot in the least showbiz of the rooms at The Stand. It’s a scenario that seems fitting as he has the demeanour of a man that life has handed out gifts with one hand and taken them away with the other. Plus it provides him with some nicely self-deprecating intro humour: ‘Welcome to Stand 4, or “that poky little room” as my mum calls it.’
It’s actually a nice little room, a cosily intimate venue in which to see one of the most inventive stand-ups on the Fringe. This year’s show doesn’t disappoint as it’s a delightfully shambling, apparently unconnected, collection of material.
His tale begins (and pretty much ends too) with a trip to see Buzz Aldrin at the Royal Festival Hall. Carlin is a little disappointed that Aldrin looked just like a man rather than a man that had been to the moon (whatever one of those would look like, he notes) and to compound it, Aldrin had showed the audience pictures of his cats.
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In between are a disparate set of topics – his father’s annoying habit of putting ‘s’ on words, the bad combination that is double-decker buses and low bridges, the Protect and Survive nuclear war public information film of the Eighties, and Aberdeen fairgrounds.
The hour then culminates in possibly the most tenuous, knowingly cynical and hilarious round-up of any show this festival.
Carlin’s sense of the surreal, seen frequently in previous work, is still very much in evidence; the ordinary meets the extraordinary in such routines where black magic is accidentally threatened in Argos
His other trademark quality of pedantry seems to have come down a notch though there is still some in evidence gently grumbling under the surface., while his delivery, once monotone, now seems quite animated – or as animated as the delightfully deadpan Scot is likely to get, anyway.
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Stephen Carlin Dates
Wed 26 Jun 2013
- Ludlow Assembly Rooms
- 19:30
- Call for prices
- Benny Boot, David Trent, Stephen Carlin, Mark Olver (MC)
Wed 26 Jun 2013
- Africa Centre
- 20:15~23:00
- £4
- Dane Baptiste, Stephen Carlin
Thu 27 Jun 2013
Sat 29 Jun 2013
- Gillingham FC Blues Bar
- 20:45~23:15
- £8
- Quint Fontana, Stephen Carlin, Tom Toal (MC)
Mon 8 Jul 2013
- Edinburgh Stand
- 18:15~18:45
- £8 (£7 concs)
- Andy Zaltzman, Isy Suttie, Nish Kumar, Stephen Carlin
Tue 23 Jul 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Downstairs at the King's Head
- 20:00
- £7 (£5 concs)
Sat 27 Jul 2013
- The Harrison
- 19:00~22:00
- £5
- Carey Marx, Max Dickins, Stephen Carlin
Sat 27 Jul 2013
- Downstairs at the King's Head
- 20:30
- £11 (£7 concs)
- Alistair Barrie, Stephen Carlin, Tiernan Douieb
Wed 31 Jul 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
More Stephen Carlin Dates …
Thu 1 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Fri 2 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sat 3 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sun 4 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Mon 5 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Tue 6 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Thu 8 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Fri 9 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sat 10 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sun 11 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Mon 12 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Tue 13 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Thu 15 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Fri 16 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sat 17 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sun 18 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Mon 19 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Tue 20 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Wed 21 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Thu 22 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Fri 23 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sat 24 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Sun 25 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Mon 26 Aug 2013
- Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man
- Pleasance Courtyard
- 18:00~19:00
- £6 (preview) to £12
Fri 11 Oct 2013
Represented by
Glorious Management
Lisa White
Lower Ground Floor
79 Noel Road
London
N1 8HE
contact by email
Office: 020 7704 6555
Mobile: 07545 092410
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Past Shows
Stephen Carlin: The Podium of Unconditional Surrender Stephen Carlin: Guilty Bystander Stephen Carlin: Pandas VS Penguins Stephen Carlin: Gambling Man Tedstock
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Older Comments
Mark - 07/02/2013
Wilfully sharp, wiltingly sardonic, wryly observant; aided by his (perhaps unintended lack of pretension), this makes Mr Carlin both bloody funny and thought-provoking. I can see why Stewart Lee rates him so. Not just up and coming, but teetering on greatness. Just a few more steps, Stephen, a few more steps.
anth young - 09/02/2012
I thought he started poorly then got better but average at best!
Andy Guptan - 28/10/2011
Stephen Carlin us in front of me at the moment. Struggling! That I'm writing this review sums up how well he is doing. Poor poor routine! Standard "I'm Scottish " routine,done twenty times before and always better. GONG!
Douglas Thomson - 16/11/2009
Stephen Carlin at Eden Court Theatre Inverness.Sadly Stephen's set mainly comprised of talking about serial killers. I thought I was at a police conference, profiling serial killers. Staring into the middle distance and being hesitant will not win over an audience. As most people experience from their school report "can do better!" this applied on this occasion. Look forward to a return gig with more amusing material.
James Ventham - 06/08/2008
Saw him last night supporting Stephen Merchant at the Warwick Arts Centre. At first I thought his delivery was slightly off, but actually after a couple of minutes into his set you could see that was his delivery, and his jokes worked perfectly because of it. I thought he was outstanding, and certainly one of the quickest, sharpest, funniest comedians I've seen for a long time, I hope he goes from strength to strength
Alaric Dynevor, Huddersfield - 05/06/2008
I hope he doesn't end up headlining the chicken-in-a-basket Jongleurs circuit all the time for I think he is very good indeed.
Ian S - 01/07/2007
Saw him for the first time at Hen and Chickens last night trying out new material for Edinburgh. Didn't think the show worked at all & was bordering on embarassing by the end. Hope he sorts it out in time for the proper show...
hugh reilly - 19/12/2006
Saw him in Glasgow's The Stand. Fantastic, so funny, so clever. Only one swear word, no gross references re sex, masturbation etc, just side splitting observations and off beat comedy. go see him!
Benita - 04/12/2006
I fully intend to go and see Steve Carlin again, but this time, less wine will be consumed beforehand. After waking up in the morning and only then realising how funny his jokes were, I realised that one needed to be alert and awake to truly understand and appreciate this intelligent material. See this man... but sober
Malibu Donghonkey - 10/05/2006
You should try following Steve Carlin - it borders on the impossible. He's that good.
Adnan Ahmed - 03/04/2006
He's not just a comedians' comedian - he's much better than that. Incredible material and stage presence, he should be a big star.
Benny Malone - 01/04/2006
Fantastic. An intelligent comedian who requires an intelligent audience. Deserves to have a lot of success.
Stephanie - 29/03/2006
The funniest comedy act I've ever seen, and possibly the cleverest. Wonderful. I want to see much much more of this fabulous man
Bethany - 10/03/2006
An absolute pleasure to work with, a great comic with impeccable timing and some of the best constructed jokes I've heardin a long time.
Danielle Jayne - 10/03/2006
We saw Steven at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh and he was fantastic! I was laughing so hard I cried! I would definately pay to see him again and hope he comes back to Edinburgh
Malc - 23/02/2006
Very very very funny, A maximum 147 .Terrific material, he just gets better.
Big Rich - 30/01/2006
Have seen him twice now and I thinks he's great. The stuff about hurricanes and Edinburgh's great hall amused me immensely.
Howard Raucous - 02/12/2005
Hadn't heard of Carlin before, but thoroughly enjoyed his opening set before watching the superb Stewart Lee. Carlin's material is strong and he is very quick to react to audience members, and some of the highlights were including such individuals in his routine (without trying to emarrass them). Not sure if he's a headline act yet, but a very worth opener.
Mark - 30/11/2005
I thought his material was hackneyed, obvious and boring. However, whenever someone shouted out a heckle he would improvise brilliantly with it and immediately become witty, engaging and hilarious. A performer who is capable of being marvelously funny and inventive but who really needs to work on his set material.
Jack Sommers - 22/11/2005
Saw him open for Stewart Lee and he was excellent
Alex Morgan - 06/11/2005
Absolute genius! Who knew there were so much comedy could be drawn from snooker.
Jim Smallman - 24/09/2005
Living proof that snooker can be very, very funny.
Stephen - 06/09/2005
Brilliant and original.
Norman D - 31/05/2005
Clever, clever fucker. At last saw Carlin at a proper club opening a night with Howard Read and Time Vine and he was outstanding.There will be no stopping him now.
Johnny - 23/05/2005
Saw him in Nottingham, some of his material alienated a lot of the audience but those who liked it, loved it. A breath of fresh air, a brilliant comedian but not for everyone
Darrell Martin - 21/04/2005
Very funny.
Kraftwerk - 18/01/2005
Loved his act. Delightfully bizarre and self-deprecating. Nice one.
Richard - 17/11/2004
Very, very funny. I can see why some people might not get it, but he made us laugh...a lot
Joe Wilkinson - 06/09/2004
I think he is fanastic. Lovely funny nonsense.
Jug - 17/05/2004
Certainly will be a household name some day, just hope it's for comedy. Very original style and content. Well worth seeing.
Dave Skinner - 23/02/2004
Stephen Carlin is one of the most inventive, original, and thoroughly enjoyable acts on the circuit. See him now, so you can boast about it when he's famous.
Helmut - 11/01/2004
Superb. A truly gifted comedian. One to watch.
Anna C - 09/12/2003
Absolute superstar, finally saw him storm a few weeks ago, he deserves to every time though some people just dont get him, which is a shame, for them.
Dave Dynamite - 20/09/2003
Stephen acts a bit wierd, he sounds funny and he keeps dwarf Russian hamsters. But he's an incredable comedian.
Mark B - 23/05/2003
Hilariously funny. Off-beat, clever, good interaction with audience. Great performer. Will be a household name one day.
Microsoftie - 18/05/2003
Very watchable and entertaining. His writing is as tight as his trousers